I recall vividly that last year, some network television producers or
Hollywood moguls complained that a lot of shows took place in New York.
After the tragic events late last year though, there was a complete 180-degree
spin with people urging others to do their business, television
shows, movies and what not in the Big Apple. Indeed, the cinematic
Spider-Man movie took place there and now, Duke Nukem leaves his
hometown of Los Angeles to take in the sights of Manhattan. Naturally,
wherever Duke goes, there's going to be trouble and lots of it.

Manhattan Project puts Duke through the usual New York backdrop as he
leaps across the Manhattan skyline in search of Mech Morphix, his arch
enemy who has been using New York to hatch a legion of cretins, enhanced
by a mysterious substance known as GLOOP. Duke chases Morphix and his
minions through eight locales, each consisting of three or so levels and
all ending with some special boss battle either against Morphix himself
or his lieutenants. It's a wonderful romp through some of the dingy
areas of New York, including a visit to Chinatown but curiously, a lot
of the real landmark monuments have been left out. The developers have
opted to place most of the action in anonymous run-down industrial
places or in the myriad of New York subway tunnels.

The game plays out as a sideways scrolling platformer. In spite of the
commendable 3D engine, which features some flashy lighting and
explosions, gameplay is strictly a two dimensional affair. Using the
left and right keys, you basically traverse between the whole map and
the controls are fixed rather than relative to the camera. This makes
it easier since Manhattan Project features some Resident Evil style
shots and in a fast paced game like this you don't want to be running
backwards and suddenly find yourself running towards a rocket when the
viewpoint changes. For the most part though, Manhattan Project is
simply a classic 2D platform game with a little depth and some cute
cinematic shots. Unlike Resident Evil, there isn't a heavy-handed
director's presence and often, you can control zooming and simple
motions of the camera yourself. The biggest benefit of this simplistic
approach is the ability to bypass any 3D camera issues. Instead of
fighting the camera, you can spend time fighting Duke's numerous
enemies. Special places you can enter are highlighted with a green up
arrow and if you press up, you'll automatically enter a new building or
switch to a new path. It gets kind of clumsy when the path leads down
the screen and you have the press the up key but that's a relatively
minor quibble to an otherwise excellent interface.

The weapons Duke carries are also easy to master. There's one
ammunition count for all bullet related weapons, so on and so forth.
Some of Duke's favorites have returned like the GLOPP ray, which turns
the overgrown pig police into tiny pigs and such. It's a neat weapon
but more for show, just as Duke's mighty boot kick has returned. You
shouldn't expect Duke to be much of a martial arts expert. He answers
questions much better with a gun.

For almost every obstacle posed, the correct response for Duke will
probably be to shoot it first. That seems to work for most impediments.
The levels are a mix of the usual platform puzzles. They include some
fancy acrobatic jumping, throwing a few switches or the infamous finding
a key card puzzle. Usually, the puzzles are not that noticeable and
generally blend in to the game itself. The action is maintained at a
brisk pace and that's why for the most part you won't find yourself
thinking there are any puzzles involved. The double-jump, a process
where Duke jumps once and then another time in mid-air to increase his
jumping height, is something totally unrealistic juxtaposed against the
gritty real depiction of New York buildings. The key cards are a
poignant reminder of the original Duke games; the platform ones that
came before Duke Nukem 3D. But in general, they aren't a pain to find.
Usually, the key cards and switches are on an adjacent path or just a
little ways beyond the door or forcefield you need to open so there's
very little in the way of backtracking. Since movement is kept at a
brisk pace and there are plenty of monsters to blow away in Manhattan
Project, backtracking isn't as much of a chore as you would think it
would be.

The very name Manhattan Project is a spoof on the nuclear bomb project
during World War II. This tongue-in-cheek attitude persists throughout
the entire game, helped most by Duke's many one-liners. Duke's ability
to charm us really comes from the single irony he generates. He, like
us, knows he's stuck in a game and the irony generated from the fact
that the rest of the characters don't know that's true is where the
charm lies. Duke's one-liners here are a mix though. When he grabs a
machine gun, he says, "Life is like a box of ammo" which is a spoof of
the Forrest Gump line. Another lacklustre one is when Duke says that
'the only that needs to be said is die'. Some of these are either too
contrived or cliché to be really humorous. But others aren't. If Duke
dies during the game, he returns saying, "So there *is* life after
death." Or in a particular scene where Duke is dodging cars, he tips
his hat to the classic Frogger with "What am I-a frog?" When I wrote a
preview of this game not too long ago, a lot of the speech was not
included so there must have been quite a bit of last minute reworking.
The payoff is pretty good. When Duke enters Mech Morphix's tanker ship,
he takes advantage of some recent drama: "Mech Morphix's GLOPP tanker
is gonna go down faster than Enron!" For me, it couldn't get funnier
than that and it's a shame those types of references weren't included
more often. It's a purely North American reference but then again, the
egotistical Duke was spun off from North American culture.

Overall, Manhattan Project manages to convey the sense of character Duke
Nukem embodies. Much of the score given here in this review is really
due to the fact that Duke hasn't made a proper appearance on the PC
platform for some length of time and my affinity towards it is probably
indicative that his appearance was long overdue. The game itself, on
the other hand, is entertaining. It manages to keep a brisk pace of
action that Duke Nukem games are known for. With respect to the
platform genre as a whole, the developers have used their 3D engine to
add depth to the platform game but it'll take them another game or so to
really hone this technique. For example, some of the alternate paths
given during the Chinatown stages led to pointless bonuses. You also
are unable to aim diagonally. However, it's a refreshing evolutionary
step for the platform game without play devolving into a third person
behind-the-back affair.

For the creative among you, you can rectify some of these faults by
using the built-in editor to create new levels. While the editor looks
pretty intuitive, it's not exactly a drag and drop affair. It resembles
more like the editors people used to edit BSPs or UnrealEd. The
accompanying documentation has a few holes in it since the editor is
unsupported. Still, it'll be interesting to see if fans can add some
custom content to extend Duke's stay in New York just a little longer.

Manhattan Project is very much a direct to DVD release like the home
video follow-up sequel to the theatrical Aladdin. In that sense, it's a
very good one. The production values are not as sharp but the
atmosphere and zeitgeist of the original is maintained. For Duke Nukem
fans, here's a rare chance to relive Duke's exploits in the primordial
genre he came out of. People who can remember that far back will have
fun for an afternoon or two with this game. It's a short ride but as
Duke himself says, "it's all bullets, babes and bombs," and no
self-respecting Duke Nukem fan could say no to that.